Time-recorder.



D. A. STOWELL, A. C. SMITH & E. H. COSGROVE.

TIME RECORDER.

APPLICATION HLED OCT. 25. 191

Patented Oct. 3, 1916.

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APPLICATION man act. 25. 1913.

D. A. STOWELL, A. C. SMITH & E. H. COSGROVE.

Patented Oct. 3, 1916 5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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invenfors. Desr eA-ST0weH Albert GSmith Edwin H.C.osgrove D. A. STOWELL,A. 0. SMITH & E. H. COSGROVE.

TIME RECORDER.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 25. I913.

Patented Oct. 3, 1916.

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TIME RECORDER. APPLICATION FILED OCT. 25. 1913.

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D. A. STOWELL, A. C. SMITH & E. H. COSGROVE.

TIME RECORDER.

APPLlCATlON HLED OCT. 25, 1913.

1,200,265. Patented 0%. 3,1916.

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UNITED STATES PATEN OFFICE.

DESRTE A. STOWELL, OF GARDNER, AND ALBERT C. SMITH, OF PITTSFIELD,MASSACHU- SETTS, AND EDWIN H. COSGROVE, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT,ASSIGNORS TO SIMPLEX TIME RECORDER (30., OF GARDNER, MASSACHUSETTS, ACORPORATION OF IMASSACHUSETTS.

TIME-RECORDER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 3, 1916.

Tocll whom it may concern Be it known that we, DESRIE A. STOWELL, ALBERT0. SMITH, and EDWIN H. Coscnovn, citizens of the United States, saidSTOWELL residing at Gardner, county of \Vorcester, State ofMassachusetts, said SMITH residing at Pittsfield, county of Berkshire,State of Massachusetts, and said Cosenovn residing at New Haven, countyof New Haven,

tate of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Time-Recorder, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to apparatus for recording on a suitable card orother check the time when a workman enters or leaves his place ofemployment, or the time of beginning and ending a certain piece of work.Each employee has his individual card, which is used for any convenientperiod from one week to two or more weeks, the records upon the cardsdetermining the compensation due to the workman for the given period.

In the present embodiment of our invention the records are made todenote the actual time at which the record was made, by printing the dayof the month, the hour and the minute, so that at the end of the givenperiod the elapsed working time may be calculated from the card.

The present apparatus is of the type wherein the workman places his cardin the machine at a point designated by an indicator, and resses alever, thereby actuating the printing mechanism and recording the timeupon the card.

In machines of this character, type wheels are provided for printing theminute, hour and day when the registration is effected. The minute wheelis usually continuously rotated by the clock mechanism and the hourwheels are periodically rotated step by step from mechanism controlledby the minute wheel. The day wheel is likewise periodically rotated bysuitable mechanism usually controlled by the hour wheel.

Inasmuch as the minute wheel is constantly rotating, there is only aninstant during each minute in which the character upon the face of saidwheel is in accurate printing position, and it is therefore necessary toprovide positioning mechanism for the minute wheel. This has been accomplished in various ways, but it sometimes occurs that the relativepositions of the parts of the positioning mechanism are such as torenderthe same inoperative.

One of the-objects'of the present invention is to provide auxiliaryadjusting means which will operate immediately upon the initialdepression of the operating lever to preliminarily adjust the vminutewheel so that it will be in proper position for engagement by thepositioning mechanism as said lever is further depressed to actuate theprinting mechanis V It is also found in practice that when the minuteprinting wheel is rotated to printing position near the time when thehour change is to take place there is a likelihood of erroneousregistration, by reason of the fact that the minute wheel may beadvanced by the positioning mechanism to 00 position before the hourwheel is advanced.

Another object of this invention is to provide a yielding connectionbetween the shaft which operates the day and hour wheels and the shaftwhich carries the minute wheels, so that the minute wheel may be at anytime adjusted to correct printing position, by the depression of theoperating lever, and to further provide means for so. coordinating therotation ofv said shafts as to insure proper recordati'on, even if thelever is operated an instant before an hour change is to take place.

Another object of the invention is to provide quick' acting and positivelocking means for the detents which normally position the hour and dayprinting wheels and prevent them from rotation, thus avoiding anypossibility of overthrow or other displacement of the hour and daywheels which would cause an erroneous record to be made.

The mechanism for advancing and positively locking the hour and dayprinting wheels technically known as transfer mechanism is not claimedherein as it constitutes the subject matter of a divisional application.

Further objects of this invention are fully described in the followingspecification, and are more particularly pointed out in the appendedclaims. 7

A preferred form of our invention is shown in the drawings, in whichFigure 1 is a front elevation of a clock provided with the recordingapparatus embodying this invention. Fig. 2 is a face view of one of thecards or checks to be used in connection with this invention. Fig. 3 isa front view of the recording apparatus, the casing having been removed.Fig. 4 is an end elevation of the same. Fig. 5 is a top plan view, thesuperior part of the casing having been removed to exhibit the mechanismmore perfectly. Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view through the bearingsof the main shaft and of the locking bolt which positions andtemporarily locks the minute wheel. Fig. 7 is a rear elevation partlybroken away to exhibit the yielding connections upon the main shaftwhich permit the proper adjustment of the minute wheel. Fig. 8 is adetailed view of the safety fingers. Fig. 9 is a side elevation of oneof the card positioning abutinents.

The present apparatus is so constructed and arranged that time recorosfor each day will be arranged in vertical columns, and the card isdivided into sections beginning with Monday at the top and ending withSunday at the bottom, as illustrated in Fig. 2. Each section is dividedinto four divisions for indicating respectively the time when theworkman enters by in, and the time of his exit by out. The regular timeis indicated upon one side of the card and extratime upon the other. Forconvenience in placing the card in the machine, especially in faintlight, the word in is printed upon a light field and the word out upon adark field.

A casing 1, (Fig. 1) contains the operative part of the mechanism, andis provided with a clock or time movement having an exposed dial andhands as usual, the lower portion of the casing serving to house therecording mechanism. Projecting from the front of the casing is a shelf2 which is adapted to support the time card during there'cordingoperation, and the position of the card upon said shelf is determined byan indicator 3 which is provided with a panel upon which the word inappears onv a white field and the word out upon a black fieldcorresponding to similar designations upon the time card. The shelf 2 isprovided with a shallow groove 201 (Fig. 9) upon its under side, alongwhich slides a round rod 202 connecting in spaced relation a pair ofsliding abutments 203 and 204. The .right hand abutment 203 is rigidlysecured to the rod 202 (Fig. 4) and the left hand abutment 204 isprovided with a pivoted spring-pressed latch 205 which engages thebottom of a t 'ansverse slot in the rod 202 and presses the rodyieldingly upward into the grove 201. The pressure of the spring issufficient to prevent accidental displacement of the abutments, whichare spaced apart a distance corresponding to the length of the recordcard and serve to quickly locate the cards when a considerable number ofpeople desire to record in the same space on each card, as at morning inor noon out. The latch 205 has a finger piece 206 by which the frictionis easily released when the abutments are to be moved to new positions.Stops 207 limit the endwise movements of the abutments upon the shelf 2.Y

Beneath the shelf 2 is the end of an operating lever 4 which is adaptedto be depressed by the workman for the purpose of operating the printingmechanism. The connection between the arbor of the minute hand of theclock and the recording mechanism in the lower portion of the case isindicated in dotted lines and comprises a flexible shaft 5 and suitablegears meshing respectively with a pinion upon the arbor of the minutewheel and a gear upon the driving shaft of the recording mechanism.

The recording apparatus may be generally described as comprising askeleton rectangular frame having suitable end plates 6, side plates 7and a top plate 8. J ournaled in the end plates is a main rock shaft 9to which a hand operating lever 4 is connected, a rock shaft 10 carryinga printing hammer, and a shaft 11 carrying operating mechanism adaptedto feed an inked ribbon between the printing hammer and the set of typewheels.

The driving shaft 12 and main shaft 18 are journaled in the side plates7 and above the rock shafts heretofore described. The latter has timeprinting wheels near its forward end and also carries suitable mechanismfor rotating and positioning the same. The printing hammer is operablymounted immediately beneath the printing wheel.

In operation the workman properly locates his card by the indicator 3and depresses the hand lever, whereupon the printing hammer strikes theunder face of the card and forces the same against the type ribbon andthe characters upon the printing wheel causing an impression of theminute, hour and day to be made upon the card.

The time printing wheels comprise a minute wheel 14 rigidly secured tothe main shaft 13 and an hour wheel 15 and day wheel 16 each rotatablymounted upon the main shaft 13 upon opposite sides of the minute wheel14. The minute wheel is actuated through a gear 17 (Figs. 5 and 7 on themain shaft 18 which meshes with a gear 18 upon the driving shaft 12, thelatter being actuated through beveled gears 19 and 20 (Fig. 4), the gear20 being secured upon the lower end of the flexible shaft 5 which isgeared to the arbor of the minute wheel of the clock. The gear 17 isyieldingly connected to the shaft 13 as will be hereinafter described.

Mechanism for positioning minute primiing wheel-J11 this class of timerecorders it frequently happens that the minute wheel 14, which rotatescontinuously, will indicate a time between two minutes, so that unlessprevented, a record imprint would be made upon the card which would notrecord either minute definitely. To obviate this defect means haspreviously been provided whereby upon the depression of the operatinglever the minute wheel will be rotated either forwardly or backwardly toa proper printing position. This mechanism as herein shown comprises apositioning wheel 21 (see Figs. 5, 6 and 7 which is rigidly affixed tothe main shaft, the positioning wheel being provided with a series of 60V-shaped teeth with corresponding recesses between the same. A lockingplunger or bolt 22 journaled in lugs in the rear of the frame is adaptedto be forced into coiiperative relation with the teeth upon thepositioning wheel by an arm 23 rigidly secured to the manually operatedmain rock shaft 9. A cushioning spring 24 is provided between the bolt22 and its actuating arm 23 to avoid shock or breakage of the parts. Theupper end of the locking bolt is beveled to conform accurately to therecesses in the positioning wheel whereby the bolt upon being forcedinto one of said recesses will cause the positioning wheel to rotateforwardly or backwardly, as the case may be, until the end of the boltis fully seated in the recess, at which time a character upon the minutewheel will be in proper position for printing. The locking bolt 22 isadapted to enter the space between two teeth upon the positioning wheeljust previous to a registration, and to remain there until the recordingis completed, thus locking the minute wheels against rotation until theprinting is effected.

As the main shaft 13, upon which the minute type wheel 14 and thepositioning wheel 21 are rigidly secured is continuously revolving, thuscausing the teeth in the wheel to pass the locking bolt continually,there will only be an instant in each minute when the plunger will bepositioned exactly between two adjoining teeth. A yielding connection istherefore established between the driving shaft 12 and the main shaft 13to permit the minute wheel to be slightly rotated to proper printingposition. This yielding connection is accomplished by mounting the gear17 loosely upon the main shaft 13 and providing the same with a dog 25having a V-shaped end normally held by a spring 26 (see Fig. 7 inengagement with a V-shaped notch 27 in a lug upon a hub 28, which hub isrigidly secured to the main shaft 13. The hub 28 also serves to securethe gear 18 from lateral movement upon one side, and a corresponding hub29 is provided upon the other side of the gear for preventing the samefrom moving upon the shaft in the opposite direction. By reason of thisyielding connection the minute wheel may be positioned by moving thelooking bolt into full engagement with the teeth on the positioningwheel, thus rotating the shaft of the minute printing wheel and, ifnecessary causing the end of the dog 25 to ride up on one side or theother of the V- shaped notch 27 during the printing operation. A stop orpin 25 is secured in the gear 17 slightly above the dog 25 and preventsthe end of the dog from rising above the sides of the notch 27 and thusescaping therefrom. Upon releasing the looking bolt the spring 26 willimmediately cause the main shaft and its gear to return to its normaldriving position.

To avoid the possibility of the end of the locking bolt coming incontact with an end or point of a tooth of the positioning wheel 21, anauxiliary finger 30 is provided (see Fig. 7) which is pivoted to therear frame upon a stud 31 and is pressed toward the positioning wheel bya spring 32 but is normally prevented from engaging the positioningwheel by a stud 32 upon the looking bolt which extends over the upperedge of the finger. Upon the depression of the operating lever to raisethe locking bolt the auxiliary finger 30 may be retracted by the spring32 and engages the side of one of the teeth of the positioning wheel andpreliminarily adjusts the same so that the end of the plunger will enterproperly between two teeth of the positioning wheel. Thus, if thepositioning wheel should be in such a position that the end of theplunger would be likely to come in contact with the end of a tooth theslight shifting caused by the auxiliary finger will obviate thedifficulty.

'To obviate the possibility of any rocking movement of the positioningwheel by reason of too rapid movement of the hand lever causing thefigure 59 on the minute wheel to again come into printing position afterthe hour wheel has been advanced, the positioning wheel is lockedagainst backward movement at the time of the hour change by a dog 33(Figs. 5, 6 and 7) pivoted upon a stud 34 on the rear frame and droppingbehind a pin 35 on the hub of the positioning wheel, at the instant whenthe characters 00 come into printing position.

H our printing wheel mechanism.1n order to properly position the hourand day printing wheels, pawl mechanism is provided which is adapted toadvance the hour printing wheel one step upon every revolution of theminute printing wheel and to advance the day printing wheel one stepupon each revolution of the hour printing wheel, it being understoodthat the minute printing wheel is provided with sixty characters, fromO0 to 59, the hour printing wheel with twenty-four characters from 1 to12, and repeated, and the day printing wheel with thirty-one characters1 to 31.

The hour and day printing wheels are actuated through the medium of abell crank 3 and 63) mounted upon a bushing 8 supported by a dependingprojection 8 of the top plate 8 and concentric with the main shaft 13.One arm 36 of said bell crank is provided with a lug 37 (Fig. 3) whichengages a cam 38 carried by the drivlug shaft 12, the bell crank therebyreceiving as idle or backward movement. To reduce the friction load uponthe clock, an anti-friction roll 37 is mounted within a slot in the lug37, its periphery projecting slightly below the lower surface of thelug. During the greater portion of the travel of the cam 38 the arm 36rests upon the roll 37 and a very light drag upon the clock results.Just previous to the hour change the point of the cam passes beyond theroll andthe arm 36 is then supported upon the lug 37, vhich insuresaccurate timing of the hour change. its will behereinafter explained indetail, the other arm 39 of the hell crank carries pawls adapted toengage ratchet wheels fixed to the hour and day wheels respectively. Italso carries releasing arms which are adapted to engage tumblers whichnormally lock the hour and day wheels from rotation and release the samejust before the pawls engage the ratchets to advance the hour and daywheels respectively. The mechanisms are so arranged that immediatelyafter the day or hour wheels have been advanced one step the parts areagain automatically locked and any overthrow prevented. A coil spring 39is secured at one end to the frame member 8 (Fig. 3) and at the otherend to the arm 39 and constitutes the actuating means for the pawlsduring their operative or forward movement.

In view of the fact that the mechanisms for operating the day and thehour wheels are very similar, a description of one will, in the main,serve for both.

The mechanism for rotating and positioning the hour wheel will first bedescribed.

The hour wheel 15, as before stated, is rotatably mounted upon the mainshaft 13. A ratchet wheel l0 (Fig. 3) having 24; teeth, and apositioning disk 4L1 having V- shaped teeth corresponding in number andposition to the hour characters are rigidly secured to the hour wheel. Apositioning detent 42 is pivoted upon a shaft 43 carried ay lugs 44:, 45(Figs. 3 and 5) on the frame and has a V-shaped end 46 which is pressedinto engagement with the teeth 47 of the positioning disk by a spring48. By reason of the fact that the V-shaped end 46 conforms exactly tothe recesses between the teeth d7 of the positioning disk the hourprinting wheel is always held in proper position for printing an hour.

The pivoted detent 42 is normally locked by an L-shaped tumbler 49 (Fig.3) pivoted upon the top frame 8. One arm 50 of the tumbler is held inengagement with a notch 22 in the top of the detent T2 by a spring 51attached to the other arm 52 of the tumbler and to a bracket 53 whichprojects downwardly from the top plate 8.

A similar detent and tumbler are provided for locking the day wheel, aswill be hereinafter described. The arm 39 of the bell crank carries atits end a stud 55 upon which is loosely mounted a sleeve 56 (Figs. 5 and(3) carrying pawls 57 and 58 for r0- tating the day and hour wheelsrespectively. The pawls 57 and 58 are both rigidly secured to the sleeve56, and a releasing arm (30, for forcing the day wheel tumbler fromlooking position, is firmly secured to the pawl 58, so that the pawls 57and 58 and the arm (30 move in unison about the stud 55. A releasing arm59 for forcing the hour wheel tumbler from looking position, is looselymounted on the stud 55. The pawl 57 for rotating the hour wheel ispressed into engagement at all times with the teeth of the ratchetwheel. 40 by a spiral spring 61 coiled about and secured to the stud 55,the free end of said spring being hooked over the top of the pawl 58.The releasing arm 59 has an offset end (32 adapted to cooperate with apin 54: on the arm 50 of the tumbler 5L9 and is mounted at the forwardend of the stud It is normally depressed by a spiral spring 63 which iscoiled around and secured to the stud 55, the free end of said springbeing hooked over the top of the releasing arm 59.

The rotation of the hour wheel is accomplished as follows: The mainshaft is driven at the same speed as the drive shaft through the mediumof gears 17, 18, and each makes one full revolution each hour. The cam38 is so mounted upon the driving shaft that the lug 37 on the arm 36 ofthe bell crank lever will drop over the shoulder of said cam at theinstant the 00 character of the minute wheel reaches printing position.\Vhen the arm 36 of the bell crank lever drops, the other arm 39alsorotates about the main shaft under the influence of the spring 39. Thismovement first causes the offset end 62 of the releasing arm 59 tostrike the pin 5% on the tumbler arm 50 and force the end of saidtumbler arm from its locking engagement in the notch 4&2 of the detent42, thus releasing the detent. Upon further forward movement of the bellcrank arm 39 the pawl 57 engages the shoulder of a ratchet tooth andadvances the same one step, the extent of movement of said pawl beinglimited by a lug 64 (Fig. 3) on the end frame 6 against which theextended end of the bell crank arm 36 strikes. After the pawl hasadvanced far enough to rotate the hour wheel slightly over one half astep the offset 62 of the re leasing arm 59 passes under the pin 54 onthe'tumbler arm 50 and permits the latter to be instantly thrown back bythe spring 51 toward locking position.

In the forward movement of the ratchet wheel the end of the detent arm42 rides up the forward side of a tooth 47 of the positioning disk 41and as soon as it passes the crest of the tooth it aids in advancing thehour wheel until the end of said arm reaches full engagement with thepositioning disk. In the meantime the tumbler 49 has been released sothat the instant the end of the detent 42 reaches normal position it isagain locked by the tumbler arm 50.

Day printing wheel mechanism.The

mechanismfor actuating the day wheel is substantially the same as thatabove described for operating the hour wheel, there being a ratchetwheel 65 anda positioning disk 66 (Figs. 5 and 6) attached rigidly tosaid day wheel 16, and coiiperating respectively with the pawl 58carried by the sleeve 56, a locking detent 67, a tumbler 68 and areleasing arm 60. The means for actuating the day wheel difi'ers fromthat of the hour wheel, however, in that the ratchet wheel 65 is smallerthan the ratchet wheel and the pawl 58 and the releasing arm 60 forunlocking the tumbler 68 are each so secured to the sleeve 56 as to benormally held out of operative relation with the ratchet wheel 65 andtumbler 68 respectively, by

the pawl 57 resting upon the large ratchet wheel 40.

The hour ratchet wheel 40 is provided with one deep notch 69 (see Fig.3) so positioned as to be engaged by the pawl 57, which rotates the hourwheel, at midnight. When the pawl 57 drops into this deep notch itallows the pawl 58 and releasing arm 60, which are attached thereto, todrop sufficiently to cotiperate with the ratchet and tumbler for the daywheel and advance the latter one step in the same manner as abovedescribed in connection with the hour wheel.

Whilethe mechanism above described will usually position the type wheelscorrectly, there is a possibility of wrong registration at the end ofeach hour, as for instance, when the positions of the type wheels changefrom 1:59 to 2:00. If the workman should insert his card slightly beforethe hour change takes place and depress the operating lever quickly, theauxiliary finger 30 might move the m nute type hee 14 forward slightlyin advance of the normal position of the gears 17 and 18, and theprinting mechanism would thus be caused to register 1 :00 instead of2:00. To obviate this difiiculty safety fingers 70, 71 (Fig. 8) aresecured to the main shaft 13 and driving shaft 12 respectively in suchposition as to come in contact when, the hour change takes place, andshould a registration occur at the instant when the auxiliary finger 3Oenters a space in the positioning wheel which would locate the typewheel in a position to register 00 before the hour type wheel isadvanced, the engagement of the safety fingers will cause the drivingshaft 12 to be rotated forward slightly and thus permit the lug 37 ofthe lever 36 to drop over the shoulder of the cam, permitting theoperating pawl to advance and position the hour wheel for the properregistration of the hour, as before described. By the operation of thesafety fingers in connection with the yielding gear upon the main shaftand the positioning mechanism for the minute wheel, the correctrecording of the hour and minute is positively assured.

The printing mechanism for the apparatus heretofore described comprises,in addition to the type wheels, a hammer 72, provided with a yieldingsurface 73, supported at the end of an arm 74, which is pivoted upontherock shaft 10. Lugs 75, 76, (Figs. 3 and 6) projecting from the sideof the hammer arm engage oppositely disposed projections 77, 78 uponcollars 79, 80, which are secured to the rock shaft 10 by set screws insuch a position as to permit a slight free vibration of the printing arm74. This slight vibration permits the hammer, when operated, to strike aquick blow upon the bottom of the card and to force the same against thetype on the type wheel. A leaf spring 81 (Fig. 3) is secured to a lug 82upon a cross bar of the frame above the hammer arm, and serves toquickly return the hammer after the printing stroke and to hold itnormally out of contact with the type wheels. The rock shaft 10 whichcar ries the type hammer is actuated through a bell crank mechanism,(Fig. 4) one arm 83 of said bell crank being attached through the mediumof a spring 84 to the. rear frame 7 of the machine. The other or forwardend 85 of the bell crank'is engaged'by a pawl 86 pivoted at 86 to thehand lever 4 and normally pressed into engagement with said bell crankarm by a spring 87. The pawl 86 has near its end a lug 88 which ridesupon a fixed cam surface 89 on the end frame of the machine so that whenthe hand lever is depressed, the pawl rotates the rock shaft 10 againstthe tension of the spring 84, depressing the hammer arm for its stroke.Upon a complete depresslon of the hand 19- ver 4 the pawl 86 is causedby the cam 89 to be released from its engagement with the arm 85 of thebell crank. The spring thereupon causes the printing hammer to strike aquick blow against the bottom of the time card. Upon the release of thehand lever the pawl again engages the end of the bell crank lever, andis ready for the next operation.

The rock shaft 10 also carries a hammer 90 which is adapted to strike abell 91 simultaneously with the stroke of the printing hammer, thusnotifying the workman that a record has been made upon his card.

The mechanism for operating the ribbon comprises a shaft 11 extendinglengthwise of the machine and carrying gears 92, 93 (Fig. 5) near itsend, which are adapted to engage alternatively with gears 9a, 95 uponthe ends of counter shafts 96, 97, upon which are mounted reels 98, 99carrying the inked ribbon. The shaft 11 is rotated through the medium ofa ratchet wheel 100 (Fig. i) mounted on said shaft and actuated andcontrolled by pawls 101, 102 mounted upon a link 103 attached to an armon the main rock shaft 9. Mechanism is provided for reversing thedirection of feed of the ink ribbon, which is substantially identicalwith that shown and described in Patent 1,045,389, granted to D. A.Stowell, Nov. 26, 1912, and need not be further described.

Having fully described our invention, what we claim is new and desire tosecure by Letters-Patent is:

1. In a time recorder, in combination, manually operated impressionmechanism, a time printing wheel, automatic means for advancing thesame, separate manuallycontrolled means efiective during the printingoperation only to position and lock the printing wheel, and auxiliarymanuallycontrolled means effective to preliminarily move the printingwheel into position to be acted upon by the first named positioningmeans, said positioning means and said auxiliary means being renderedoperative only by movement of said impression mechanism.

2. In a time recorder, in combination, a time printing wheel, means forcontinuously rotating the same, and separate means for positioning andlocking the printing wheel during the printing operation only, saidmeans comprising a positioning wheel, means adapted to engage thepositioning wheel and preliminarily adjust the same, and additionallocking mechanism co6perat ing with the positioning wheel and adapted tofinallyposition the printing wheel and to secure the same from movementduring the printing operation.

3. In a time recorder, in combination, a time printing wheel, a shaft towhich the wheel is secured, automatic means for actuating the shaft, andmanually operated means for positioning and locking the print ing wheelwhile printing, comprising a toothed positioning wheel rigidly mountedon said shaft, means adapted to engage a tooth of the positioning wheelto preliminarily adjust the same, and locking mecha' nism cooperatingwith the teeth of the positioning wheel to finally position the printingwheel and to secure the same from movement during the printing operationonly. i p

at. In a time recorder, in combination, a time printing wheel, a shaftto which the wheel is secured, means for actuating the siaft, and meansfor positioning and locking the printing wheel while printing,comprising a toothed positioning wheel rigidly mounted on the shaftwhich carries-said printing wheel, a locking bolt adapted to engage theteeth of the positioning wheel, a pawl controlled by the locking boltadapted to engage a tooth of the positioning wheel and adjust the latterfor proper engagement with the locking bolt and means for operating saidlocking bolt.

5. In a, time recorder, in combination, a time printing wheel, a shaftto which the printing wheel is secured, means for actuating the shaftand means for positioning and locking the printing wheel while printing,comprising a positioning wheel fixed to said shaft and having acuteangled V- shaped teeth and corresponding recesses between the same, alocking bolt the end of which is complementary to the recesses in thepositioning wheel, a pawl controlled by the locking bolt adapted toengage a tooth of the positioning wheel and preliminarily position thesame, and means for operating the locking bolt.

6. In a time recorder, in combination, manually operated impressionmechanism, a time printing wheel, means for continuously rotating saidwheel, a toothed positioning wheel rigidly connected thereto, a lockingbolt having a beveled end adapted to enter the space between any twoadjacent teeth on the positioning wheel, an auxiliary positioning fingerconstructed to engage the wheel in advance of the locking bolt and topreliminarily adjust the wheel so that no tooth thereon shall be inalinement with the beveled end of the locking bolt, and means associatedwith said impression mechanism for actuating said bolt and finger. H

7. In a time recorder, in combination, a time printing Wheel, a shaft towhich the printing Wheel is secured, means for actuating the shaft andmeans for positioning and locking the printing wheel while printing,comprising a toothed positioning Wheel rigidly mounted on the shaftwhich carries said printing wheel, a locking bolt, a pawl controlled bythe same adapted to engage a tooth of the positioning wheel andpreliminarily adjust the latter for proper engagement with the lockingbolt and means adapted to engage the positioning wheel at apredetermined time and prevent backward movement thereof.

8. In a time recorder, in combination, a time printing wheel, means forcontinuously rotating the same, a printing hammer and means forpositioning and locking the printing wheel during the printing operationonly, said means comprising a positioning wheel having acute angledV-shaped teeth and corresponding recesses between the same, a lockingbolt, the end of which is complementary to the recesses in thepositioning wheel, a spring actuated pawl adapted to engage a tooth ofthe positioning wheel and preliminarily position said wheel, and meansfor manually operating the locking bolt and controlling the operation ofthe pawl in conjunction. with the actuation of the print ing hammer.

5). In a time recorder, in combination, manually operated impressionmechanism, printing mechanism comprising minute and hour printingwheels, at driving shaft actuated by clock mechanism and controlling theintermittent feed of the hour wheel, a. main shaft carrying the minutewheel, devices controlled by said impression mechanism for positioningthe minute wheel preliminarily to the making of an impression thereon,connections through which the driving shaft normally drives the mainshaft, and additional connections through which the main shaft willpositively advance the driving shaft when said main shaft is advanced bysaid positioning devices to bring the zero of the minute wheel toprinting position before the corresponding advance of the hour wheeloccurs.

10. In a time recorder, in combination, a printing mechanism comprisingminute and hour printing wheels, a driving shaft actu-. ated by clockmechanism, a main shaft to which the minute wheel is rigidly connectedand upon which the day and hour wheels are rotatably mounted,connections between the driving shaft and the main shaft, through whichthe main shaft is normally rota-ted, means for positioning the minutewheel, and safety fingers rigidly secured to the driving shaft and mainshaft respectively, and through which the main shaft may posiively movethe driving shaft to positively coordinate the positions of the printingwheels.

11. In a time recorder, in combination, time printing mechanism, a cardsupporting shelf having a longitudinal groove inv its lower surface, arod longitudinally movable in said groove, a card positioning abutmentsecured to said rod, a second abutment definitely spaced from said firstnamed abutment by the cooperation of a slot in the rod and a latch insaid second abutment, and a spring pressing said latch into said slotand said rod into said groove to hold the abutments in adjusted positionrelative to said printing mechanism, said latch being provided withmeans whereby the abutments may be released for longitudinal movement.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand, in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

DESRIE A. STOWELL. /Vitnesses:

THATGI-IER B. DUNN, ALTHA M. STOWELL. In testimony whereof I havehereunto set my hand, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ALBERT 0. SMITH. l/Vitnesses:

WILLIAM". E. BAGG, WILLIAM It. GARDINER. V In testimony whereof I havehereunto set my hand, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

EDWIN H. GOSGROVE. lVitnesses:

P. JAGOBSON, W. J FIMISTER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. G.

